Village People 'Cop' sues Tampa Bay Rays

George

Published 8:00 pm, Saturday, August 13, 2011

If you’ve ever been to a game at Yankee Stadium then you know what happens at the end of the fifth inning.

Like every other ballpark in the major leagues, the grounds crew drags the infield. But what makes Yankee Stadium unique, as any Bronx Bomber bleeder will tell you, is the grounds crew there drags the infield to the tune of the Village People’s “YMCA.”

Members of the grounds crew even pause, free their hands, and spell out Y-M-C-A with their arms. You know the drill.

Heck, it’s become a Yankee Stadium tradition, first across the street and now at the new stadium.

But not every big league team has had the same love affair with that song. In fact, the Tampa Bay Rays are facing a lawsuit because of it.

Victor Willis, who was the original “cop” when Village People formed in 1977 as well as its lead singer, is suing the Rays organization for, in legal terms, “misappropriating” his voice and image.

The Village People celebrated their 30th anniversary last year, but Willis left the group in 1984. And now he is upset the Rays used a 1978 video snippet that showed him performing “YMCA” in order to promote a Village People concert at Tropicana Field last August.

“His voice is very distinctive. People know that song,” Linda Smythe, Willis’ publicist, points out. “They get excited, thinking he is going to be there.”

In other words, it’s a form of false advertising. At least that’s how Willis views it.

Some have accused Willis of just trying to make a quick buck. But he’s still a successful recording artist (his official Website identifies him as the ‘Original Village People Lead Singer) and, according to the St. Petersburg Times, he makes roughly $1 million a year in songwriting royalties.

Smyth, in fact, says her client is not even looking to make any money off the Rays.

“What we would like ideally from the Rays is to ask them to apologize and give us assurances that they won't do that again,” she said.

But this isn’t the only lawsuit Willis has filed accuding people of using his image and voice without his permission. He recently won a settlement from Hallmark and is currently involved in another suit against the creators of The Cleveland Show cartoon.

Gee, if you ask me, that certainly doesn't sound very Macho Man of Victor Willis.